New commissioner bides his time

By PETER GRIFFIN

The new telecommunications commissioner, Douglas Webb, wants to get his feet under the desk before airing his thoughts on the industry.

Asked to comment about the changing competitive landscape in the industry, the 55-year-old managing counsel at the World Bank said that what he knew of interconnect disputes between Telecom and Clear - and the plans of new mobile player Econet Wireless - came from news reports.

"In any event, since the bill hasn't been passed, the regulatory framework isn't finalised."

The Telecommunications Bill will receive its third and final reading this week, putting in place the guidelines by which Mr Webb will carry out his role as part of the Commerce Commission.

He said the scope of the position, which has a five-year term, would be narrower than in developing countries where he had worked before. He declined to list those areas in which he had worked on telecommunications reform.

But, he added, New Zealand had a tradition of independent regulation of business activities with appeal rights to a "strong Judiciary".

"In contrast, in most developing countries, the notion of an independent regulatory function isn't well established, and the Judiciary is problematic in relation to dealing with complex commercial and public interest issues."

His time at the World Bank, he added, had given him the skills to avoid both "capture" by telecoms stakeholders and regulatory over-reach by the Government.

Avoiding both would be essential in establishing an "independent and credible regulatory function".

Mr Webb said the exact timing of his move to Wellington had not been settled. He is expected to start in March.